2015
STARS Summer Research Program for Students
Madeleine Ash
Azim Dharani
Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Hebron High School
Host: Bruce Beutler, M.D.
Host: Diana Tomchick, Ph.D.
Genotyping to Confirm
Mendelian Inheritance of
Engineered Mutations
Buffer Optimization of
Unsuccessfully Screened
Spirochete Proteins
Lauren Baron
Martin Donjuan
Greenhill School
Irving High School
Host: Khuloud Jaqaman, Ph.D.
Host: Helmut Kramer, Ph.D.
Quantitative Analysis of
VEGFR2 and CD36 Colocalization in Endothelial Cells
Testing the Role of Phagocytosis
in Oxidative and UV Stress
Lane Cordy
Science and Engineering
Magnet School (SEM)
Host: Fan Gao, Ph.D.
Simulating Body-Powered
Upper-Limb Prosthesis Operation Robotically
Enrique De Alba
Science and Engineering
Magnet School (SEM)
Host: Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D.
Investigating the Role of
Foxp1 in Motor Coordination
and Vocal Behavior
Mark De Los Santos
Nolan Catholic High School
Host: Qing Zhong, M.D., Ph.D.
OFD1 Overexpression in Retinal
Pigment Epithelium Cells: Cell
Line Building
Erika Galindo
Duncanville High School
Host: Carole Mendelson, Ph.D.
Role of miR-199a in the
Regulation of Surfactant
Protein-A (SP-A) Gene Expression in Human Fetal Lung
Eskedar Girmash
Wylie High School
Host: Adrian Rothenfluh, Ph.D.
Effect of 5HT2A Specific
Serotonin Agonist and
Antagonist on Drosophila
Melanogaster Feeding Behavior
2015
STARS Summer Research Program for Students
Kevin Gonzalez
Josh Kurian
Greenhill School
Plano West Senior High School
Host: Mike Buszczak, Ph.D.
Host: Vitaly Margulis, M.D.
Reverse Genetic Screen of
Uncharacterized Genes Highly
Expressed in the Drosophila
Female Germlines
Effect of CycloRGD Peptide on
E-cadherin Depletion in Renal
Carcinoma Cells
Sean Howard
Jesuit College Preparatory
School of Dallas
Host: Dwight German, Ph.D.
Creating a Blood Biomarker
Panel for Autism Using Peptoids
and Proteins
Stu Mair
Lovejoy High School
Host: Ram Mani, Ph.D.
Engineering Cancer-associated
Genomic Rearrangements Using
the CRISPR-Cas9 System
Sujal Manohar
Catherine Jiang
The Hockaday School
Host: Kim Orth, Ph.D.
Identifying the Chaperone for
Vibrio parahaemolyticus T3SS1
Effector VopR
North Hills Preparatory School
Host: Matt Petroll, Ph.D.
Fibronectin as a Regulator of
Corneal Fibroblasts in D Fibrin
Matrices
Jordan McCoy
Mahesh Krishna
John Paul II High School
Host: Xiankai Sun, Ph.D.
Glutathione Coated Gold-copper
Alloy Nanoparticles as Scaffolds
for Active Targeting of Non-small
Cell Lung Cancer
Kartik Kulkarni
Independence High School
Host: Nikhil Munshi, M.D., Ph.D.
Controlling Gene Expression for
Cardiac Reprogramming
Lake Dallas High School
Host: Ryan Hibbs, Ph.D.
Removing Glycosylation Sites
to Aid the Crystallization of the
α3β4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine
Receptor
2015
STARS Summer Research Program for Students
Maria Mendoza
Diana Olmos
Irma Rangel Young Women’s
Leadership School
Uplift Williams Preparatory
Host: Ganesh Raj, M.D., Ph.D.
Host: Guosheng Liang, Ph.D.
Functional Determination of
ChREBP-α and ChREBP-β Isoforms in Chrebp Knockout Mice
Effect of Progesterone on Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation
Molly Paley
Rosa Mendoza
Irma Rangel Young Women’s
Leadership School
Booker T. Washington HSPVA
Host: Linda Baker, M.D.
Host: Jennifer Kohler, Ph.D.
Scoring Phenotypic Severity in
Prune Belly Syndrome Patients
Expression and Purification
of Human Polypeptide GalNAc Transferase 1 from Pichia
pastoris for High-throughput
Screening
Sanjana Ravi
Hailey Modi
Generation of a RBM39
Nanoluciferase Reporter Assay
Plano East High School
Host: Deepak Nijhawan, M.D., Ph.D.
Texas Academy of Math
& Science
Host: Benjamin Chen, Ph.D.
DNA-PKcs Regulates AMPK
Activation in Response to
Oxidative Stress
Yesibel Molina
Alejandro Rey Hipolito
Jesuit College Preparatory
School of Dallas
Host: Peter Tsai, M.D., Ph.D.
Expression Patterns and
Therapeutic Efficacy in Cerebellar Mouse Models of Autism
Harmony School of Nature
Host: Rajiv Chopra, Ph.D.
Quantification of Doxorubicin
Release from Thermosensitive
Liposomes by Fluorometric
Spectroscopy
Jasmine Rodriguez
School of Health Professions
at Townview
Host: Dawen Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.
Phosphatidylserine-rich
Liposomes Facilitate the Recognition and Phagocytosis by
Macrophage Cells
2015
STARS Summer Research Program for Students
Jonathan Rodriguez
Mera Tegene
Lamar High School
Talented and Gifted Magnet High
School (TAG)
Host: Dominika Borek, Ph.D.
Host: Ann Stowe, Ph.D.
Mitochondrial Copy Number in
Healthy and Diseased Hearts
Javier Sigala
Non-nuclear Estrogen Receptor Activation Correlates With
a Larger Magnitude of Stroke
Recovery
Irving High School
Host: Hasan Zaki, Ph.D.
The Role of NOD2 in TLR Signaling in Macrophages
Aliya Somani
Talented and Gifted Magnet
High School (TAG)
Lorena Tirado
Irving High School
Host: Jon Graff, M.D., Ph.D.
Establishing the Relationship
Between Circulating Carbohydrates and Eating Behaviors in
Drosophila melanogaster
Host: Chalermchai Khemtong, Ph.D.
Preparation and Characterization of Gadolinium-loaded Liposomes for Pulmonary Tumor
Imaging
Lily Sumrow
Luis Vasquez
Sunset High School
Host: Li Liu, Ph.D.
Assessing Potential Differential
Efficacy of Vascular Disrupting
Agents on Diverse Tumor Lines
The Hockaday School
Host: Rajiv Chopra, Ph.D.
Quantification of Released
Doxorubicin Concentration Via
Spectral Fluorometry
Samantha Taussig
The Hockaday School
Host: Kirsten Tulchin-Francis, Ph.D.
Plantar Pressure Indications of
Longitudinal Medial Arch Development in Children without
Foot Pathology
Aaron Vengalil
Jesuit College Preparatory
School
Host: Ming-Chang Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
High Phosphate Inhibits the
Outgrowth from Aortic Rings
Ex Vivo
2015
STARS Summer Research Program for Students
Annie Vu
Highland Park High School
Host: Sandeep Burma, Ph.D.
Characterization of Silicon-induced Tumors in a Mouse Model
of Glioma
Ashley Watson
Woodrow Wilson High School
Host: Shin Yamazaki, Ph.D.
The Effects of Restricted Voluntary Exercise on Eating Behavior
in High Fat Diet Fed Mice
Heather Xiao
The Hockaday School
Host: Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
Pilot Study of Icariin in Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Use
Disorder